CableHome 1.1 hits milestone

Certification wave 28 at CableLabs ended by achieving a key goal: passing grades granted to devices based on CableHome 1.1.

Receiving that honor first was Linksys, which was awarded the CableHome 1.1 stamp for its Wireless-G Cable Gateway (WCG200), which has 802.11g support baked in. CableLabs later revealed that Netgear and SMC Networks also achieved CableHome 1.1-certified status following wave 28.

A step above CableHome 1.0, the 1.1 spec enables cable operators to offer managed home networking services and features, including firewalls, parental controls and some preliminary LAN-side messaging. It also serves as a foundation for multimedia applications delivered via a home network.

Those additive features are "a great addition to our home networking businesses," said Richard Hertz, CableHome's certification board chair and vice president of cross platform network services at Comcast Cable.

During the wave, CableLabs also awarded CableHome 1.0 certification to a gateway from Motorola Broadband.

With Siemens in the qualified mix, the number of CMSs to win PacketCable qualification rises to six. The other vendors in that rare air include Syndeo Corp., Cedar Point Communications, Cisco Systems, Nortel Networks and Telcordia Technologies.

A flow of modems also made it through DOCSIS testing unscathed. CableLabs granted DOCSIS 2.0 certification to eight modems and one eMTA, and re-certified two other modems for the advanced spec.

CableLabs awarded DOCSIS 1.1 certification to products from Electroline Equipment Inc. and Toshiba (two modems). Thomson also received DOCSIS 1.0 certification on a model during the wave.

Electroline's certification is significant because its product is designed for outdoor use. The company's "DOCSIS Rugged Cable Modem" is designed to enable operators to perform DOCSIS network monitoring in conditions that would break modems designed for indoor, consumer use.

ARRIS also became just the second CMTS vendor to win DOCSIS 2.0 qualification, getting the stamp for its "pizza-box" Cadant C3. Terayon Communication Systems is the other.